?Meet-N-Beat the Huskers? Attracts Huge Crowd to Hawks Championship Center

Lincoln - More than 800 Husker fans came through the doors of the Hawks Championship Center on Wednesday night for the 15th annual "Meet-N-Beat the Huskers" event.

Festivities were moved indoors earlier in the day, but it was evident the rain didn't damper the spirits of Nebraska soccer fans, as assistant coach Wally Crittenden said it was one of best "Meet-N-Beat" events in program history.

Many youth soccer clubs and teams from the Lincoln area were in attendance, as they had the opportunity to meet the 2009 Huskers and participate in drills with the Nebraska players. Each attendee was given a free Husker soccer poster and schedule cards, many of which ended up covered in autographs.

At the end of evening, Crittenden addressed the crowd and emphasized the importance of home attendance, stressing his goals to break records at the Nebraska Soccer Field this fall. The Huskers also introduced themselves, before leading the youth in the official Nebraska soccer chants.

The Huskers' host 11 home games on the NU campus this fall, starting with the Sept. 4 home opener against Lamar at 5 p.m. Nebraska travels to the Villanova Classic this weekend, as the Huskers take on Lehigh on Friday at Noon, before facing Villanova on Sunday at Noon.